


Five Times Steve Worried About Tony's Safety

by thesoundofnat



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: 5+1, Fluff and Angst, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, M/M, POV Tony Stark, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 14:46:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15366957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesoundofnat/pseuds/thesoundofnat
Summary: ...and one time Tony asked him to.





	Five Times Steve Worried About Tony's Safety

**1.**

If Tony had been stupid enough to do this without a helmet of some sort, he would’ve tasted both blood and gravel right now. Maybe spit out a couple of teeth and spend a day smiling all tight lipped to hide the gap before getting it fixed. Possibly get a concussion. Fortunately he’d realized early on that he was most likely better off staying alive if he wanted to do this and get some sort of positive result.

Hence, getting knocked out of the sky to the concrete probably looked worse than it was. To others it seemed like a fatal fall. To him it was simply a matter of getting up and shaking it off.

He groaned as voices filled his ears, the coms going crazy with questions of his well being.

“Stark, are you all right?”

“Do you copy?”

“Holy shit, are you okay?!”

“I’m fine,” he choked out. “Just got the wind knocked out of me, but I’m fine.”

He sat up, shook his head and gazed out over the battleground, aka some street in New York that a lunatic with a cape and a laser had decided to attack. The others were still trying to take him down, and his coms had gone blissfully silent once he’d reassured them. He heaved himself up, regaining his breath quickly, and made a move to go join them. That’s when he saw him.

Tony knew Steve was fast. Had practically seen him run the length of a football field in seconds. Therefore, he wasn’t surprised when he saw him running in the speed of light over the battleground, but he was extremely surprised to realize he was rushing toward him.

“Steve, what-” he started, but when Captain fucking America came running that quickly with no sign of stopping you sort of forgot how to use your words correctly. They were both damn lucky that Steve stopped just in time.

“Are you okay?” he demanded, grabbing for the head of the suit in a attempt to cradle his face. “I saw you fall.”

Tony didn’t shrug him off. “I said I was all right.”

“It looked  _bad_ , Tony.”

“The suit helped.”

Steve didn’t seem to be listening. “I forbid you from ever flying that high again.”

“What, and never be able to be of any help ever? I know what I’m doing, Steve.”

“I know but- God, just- just don’t scare me like that again.”

Had this been different Tony would’ve leaned in to kiss him, but his suit and the villain still trying to destroy the city were in the way, so he only gave Steve’s hand a squeeze. “Let’s talk about this later.”

Steve nodded. “Please be careful.”

“You too. Don’t think I don’t know what a sacrificing bastard you can be.”

Steve laughed. “Says the man who flew into space.”

“Uh, guys,” Natasha’s voice suddenly said. “You’re cute and all, but a little help here?”

“Right,” they said, and Tony was off, making sure to not get knocked down again. A worried Steve might be amusing, but Tony didn’t like being the cause of his terror. Even though he totally had the situation under control.

**2.**

This wasn’t the first time something had exploded in his lab, but it had been ages since he’d been experimenting enough for it to be a big one. In fact, he couldn’t actually remember it occurring since he moved into the Tower, which was why he wasn’t too surprised when his fellow team members came barging into his workshop a couple of minutes later.

“Sorry,” he said before they could demand answers. “I swear it was an accident, but we’re all fine. Well, except for the suit I was working on. Teleportation is still off the table, apparently.”

“Jesus Christ, Stark,” Clint said. “I thought I’d find your burning corpse or something.”

“That’s not funny,” Steve snapped.

“Did I say it was?”

“Tony, be honest. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Tony blinked at Steve and slowly turned in a circle. “Not a scratch, but feel free to mourn my suit.”

“Forget the suit,” Steve said, his voice hard. “For fuck’s sake, can you at least wear something to protect you in case things like that happen?”

Tony frowned. “And limit my mobility?”

“For your safety? Yes.”

“Steve-”

“Tony, you could’ve died.”

“But I didn’t.”

“No, but I’m not waiting around for it to happen.”

“I’ll program something. A shield of some sort that’ll get activated during emergencies. Okay?”

Steve sighed, slowly and loudly, and nodded. “Okay.”

“Now get out of my lab and let me work.”

**3.**

Galas had become significantly more boring since he’d stopped drinking, but had improved a lot since his fellow Avengers had started accompanying him to them. He stood in the corner watching Clint attempt to uphold a conversation with a man who looked like he’d rather be anywhere but there while Nat snickered at him behind them. Thor was surrounded by so many people trying to talk to him Tony almost felt bad for him, but he looked content nevertheless, especially since he’d swooped in to save Bruce from standing awkwardly by himself and had therefore forced him into the group of people inadvertently. It was kind of funny.

Steve bumped their shoulders together, looking more amused now that they were both lowkey hiding from attention. “They’re doing all right, don’t you think?”

“Wait until Nat decides to join Clint’s convo to scare the man half to death. Then we’ll talk all right.”

Steve barked out a laugh. “I can see it before me already.”

“His widened gaze.”

“Her lethal smile.”

“Barton smirking beside her.”

“That guys has it coming. He’d being incredibly rude right now.”

They watched him check his watch for the umpteenth time, barely acknowledging Clint’s words. They could tell Natasha was merely seconds away from stepping in, her amusement slowly slipping.

Tony shook his head. “You’d think people had learnt to treat superheroes and super spies better by now.”

Steve’s lips twitched. “They probably don’t know what Nat can do. Or Clint, for that matter.”

“They always underestimate Barton.”

A tray with cups filled with a rosy pink liquid was shoved in their faces, and Steve declined it for both of them before Tony could even react.

“Don’t you think it’s time to start heading home?” he asked as the waiter walked away, and Tony checked his watch.

“Hm. Yeah. It’s acceptable to leave now. Let me go ask the others real quickly.”

If Tony had had any doubts about their eagerness to leave this gala, their sighs of relief would’ve been sufficient to convince him. He grinned as they walked out together, taking up just enough space to draw people’s eyes and make it obvious that they’d stayed for at least a couple of hours. He couldn’t wait to reach the tower. Grab some takeout on the way and sit in the kitchen, all of them relaxed finally and bickering about whether it was late enough to tune in for the night or if they could afford to play a game or watch a movie. In the end, the arguments about what movie or what game would take long enough that at least one of them would start yawning.

Tony might’ve felt a twinge of worry once over how well he knew them and their routines, but he’d accepted this weird and dysfunctional family dynamics of theirs ages ago, so he just called for their cars as they all lingered by the sidewalk.

“Hey, Happy,” he said as he and Steve jumped into their shared car. “You think we can stop by that sushi place and get some grub?”

“Sure thing, boss,” Happy said, starting the car smoothly and joining the traffic, which was surprisingly slow at this time of night.

Tony rubbed his palms together. “Great. I’m starving.”

Steve nudged his side. “You did great in there.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “You expected me to run amok and make a fool out of myself?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “No, but it was as if you weren’t even struggling. I’m proud of you.”

“It’s easier because you were there,” he admitted. “All of you. If anything it was enough entertainment for a while.” He pulled at his tie, glancing at the window to find they hadn’t moved much at all. “Oh boy, this is gonna take a minute, isn’t it?”

“Maybe we should call ahead to make sure they don’t close the kitchen before we get there,” Steve suggested.

“I don’t want to keep them working overtime. God knows how much overtime. We’ll see if luck is on our side when we get there.”

“Why’s it moving so slowly though?” Steve leaned forward, peeking around Happy at the abundance of cars in front of them. “I get that it’s Saturday night, but this is ridiculous.”

Tony’s phone started blowing up then, and Tony answered Natasha’s call distractedly. “No, I cannot do anything about the traffic. Wait, what?”

Steve watched him attentively as Tony listened to Nat, his eyes narrowing the longer she spoke. “Well, shit.”

“What’s going on?”

“Yeah, I’ll check in on it. One moment.” Tony hung up, turning to Steve with a sigh. “Someone attempted to blow up the Tower.”

“Someone-  _what_?”

“That’s why it’s slow. The police has shut down several streets.”

“Holy shit.”

“I mean, they didn’t succeed. Of course they didn’t. The Tower isn’t fragile by any means.”

“Still. Imagine if we’d been there.”

“Something tells me they never intended for us to be there. Imagine how quickly we would’ve kicked their ass. Now we don’t even know who to suspect.”

Steve rubbed his neck. “Someone could’ve gotten hurt.”

“That’s always a daily risk though, isn’t it?”

Steve suddenly turned to fully face him. “You could’ve gotten hurt.”

Tony tilted his head. “So could’ve you.”

“Without your suit you’re entirely vulnerable.”

“So’s Barton and Romanoff. Why are you so caught up on this?”

“Because I care about you.”

“Steve, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

The atmosphere got tense after that, Steve’s eyebrows knitted tightly together as Tony picked up his phone again to make some phone calls. Happy was entirely silent, slowly inching them closer to the Tower, sushi forgotten.

The Tower was still up and standing when they finally reached it, the countless police cars around it being the only indication that something had happened. The others were already there when Steve and Tony got out of the car, and Tony had to spend an excruciating hour speaking to several people before they could venture inside, his good spirits from before long gone.

“They aimed for your workshop,” Steve said as they entered their bedroom. “Meaning they knew where you work and were specifically targeting you.”

Tony sunk down on the bed, exhausted. “Yes, it seems to be an attack on my person this particular time, but I’m tired of you treating me like something fragile.”

“You know I’m not stopping.”

“I do, but you know you take things too far sometimes, right?”

“What’s so wrong with caring?”

“Nothing’s wrong with caring, but as you can see I’m perfectly fine and don’t need you to fret over me all night, unless fretting involves something more physical.”

Steve didn’t even acknowledge his suggestion. “I’m not gonna apologize for worrying.”

“Well, then I guess we have a long night ahead of us, don’t we?”

Steve huffed, turning around and entering the bathroom as Tony started undressing. He hated going to bed like this, but Steve kept underestimating him, and it was starting to piss him off.

Steve took so long to come out that Tony passed out without him.

**4.**

“I’m sorry,” they said at the same time, Steve having entered the kitchen after his morning run to find Tony nursing his coffee alone. Apparently Tony hadn’t been the only one drowning in guilt.

“I know why you worry,” Tony continued while Steve shut his mouth in surprise. “Trust me, I do, and I don’t blame you. I would do the same if our roles were switched.”

“I know I go overboard sometimes,” Steve said in return. “I know how annoyed I used to get with Bucky’s mothering back in the day. I don’t mean to crowd you.”

“We’re both idiots, aren’t we?”

“Maybe a little.”

“I usually don’t mind, but yesterday was intense and it irritated me that you focused so solely on me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“ _I’m_ sorry.”

“I just don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”

Tony held out his hand, and Steve crossed the room quickly. “I hope you never get to find out.”

Steve cupped his face, thumbs caressing his cheeks. “I’d kiss you if I didn’t stink of sweat right now.”

“You know I don’t mind you sweaty.” Tony wagged his eyebrows.

Steve laughed. “You’re ridiculous. Come here.”

They locked lips, the kiss lasting longer than it usually would in a public space like the kitchen table, and when Steve finally pulled away Tony was feeling a bit breathless. “How about we go make up in the bedroom? I can pretend to still be angry to build up anticipation.”

Steve hummed. “That doesn’t sound too bad actually.”

“When have I ever had a bad idea?”

“Well-”

“Don’t answer that.”

They smiled, stupidly giddy as Tony downed the last of his coffee. They were just about to get up when Tony’s phone rang.

He grimaced. “It’s probably about the explosion. One sec.”

Steve took a step back. “You take care of it. I’ll go shower.”

“I’ll join you later.”

“You better.”

* * *

 

Tony did get to join him, but it was cut short and he had to - grumpily - get in a car and drive to the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Why he was the only one taking care of this was beyond him. And unfair.

They ended up with a list of suspects, none of which Tony had ever heard of before, but he somewhat trusted S.H.I.E.L.D. to know what they were doing, so he took the names and returned to the Tower to discuss it with the others. Get them to pull some of their weight at least.

He accidentally took the elevator to his workshop, his hand having clicked on the wrong button automatically. He paused as the door opened, shrugged, and went to tinker around with something. He probably needed it.

* * *

 

“Have you been here this whole time?”

Tony hadn’t heard Steve come in, but he heard the somewhat controlled panic in his voice and turned the music down quickly, facing him. “Honey.”

“Don’t you honey me- shit, I’m sorry.”

“Hey, now.”

“It’s just that you never came back and Fury said you’d left hours ago and since we know someone is targeting you-”

“You got worried. I should’ve told you I was back. I’m sorry.”

Steve deflated, facing the ceiling for a second. “Just- please leave a note or something next time. Or send a text. God, I thought phones would make life easier.”

“I didn’t mean to even come in here, I promise.”

“Okay.”

“I’m sorry for worrying you. Again.”

“It’s okay.”

“I know it’s not. Come here.”

Their night was significantly different from the previous one, and this time Tony felt bad for entirely different reasons.

**5.**

Tony hadn’t expected Steve to hear his pained cry all the way from wherever the hell he’d been chilling in the Tower and come running into the kitchen ready to kill whomever had hurt him. Unfortunately the culprit turned out to be a hot pan that Tony was frying some vegetables in, so it was rather anticlimactic to see the murderous rage roll off of his form so quickly.

Tony held up his hand sheepishly. “I burned myself.”

“I can see that.”

“No need to worry.”

“Of course not.” Steve grabbed his wrist gently and steered him to the sink. “Hold this under cold water.”

Tony complied. “You know, I think I have enough wits to have thought to do that on my own.”

“I don’t doubt that.”

“But your mama senses were going crazy, huh?”

“Always.”

“I feel like I’ll trip on a carpet and you’ll die of a heart attack.”

“Don’t trip then.”

“I’ll try my hardest, love of mine.”

Steve rolled his eyes and grabbed the wooden spoon Tony had been using to stir the vegetables before they burned. “Do we need to put something on the burn?”

“Nah, I think it’s fine,” Tony replied, checking it briefly before putting his finger back under the water. “Some would call me lucky.”

“I wouldn’t say the amount of danger and trouble you end up in means you’re lucky.”

“Shh. Let me dream, won’t you?”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“But you love me anyway,” Tony said, grinning.

Steve’s face softened. “But I love you anyway.”

**And one time Tony asked him to.**

The meeting was cancelled just after Tony stepped out of the shower, much to his dismay. They could at least have called him ten minutes prior when he was still snuggled up in bed and wishing Steve would skip his morning run for once. At least he’d be able to fall back asleep.

He sighed, torn between getting dressed and remaining naked to curl up under the covers. If Steve had been here the choice would’ve been easy.

Despite the shower, he ended up at the gym - after texting Steve about the cancelation - and took his time to warm up. He suddenly had about three extra hours, after all, and he was planning on making the most of them. A thorough workout was long overdue.

Until he tripped and twisted his fucking ankle like an amateur.

“Shit!” he cried out, landing on his side. His foot started aching immediately, and he grabbed for it, trying to determine the severity of the injury. Definitely twisted, but he reckoned the healing process wouldn’t be too long. The swelling would probably bother him for a while, but he’d had way worse injuries.

Still, it didn’t stop him from cursing, remaining on the floor for a moment as the shock of the ridiculous fall wore off. How he felt worse tripping in the gym than being knocked out of the sky was almost hilarious.

He tried to heave himself off of the floor, but found it hard since he couldn’t support his weight on his right foot. This wasn’t good. Like, at all. It was pretty much the exact opposite.

“At least I can fly,” he muttered to himself. “JARVIS, is Steve back?”

“Mr Rogers just arrived, sir.”

“Has he hit the showers yet?”

“No, sir.”

“Tell him to come to the gym. Alone.”

Steve had that familiar look of worry on his face when he entered a moment later, but this time Tony reckoned it was justifiable. Tony had practically asked him to worry.

“I tripped,” he said sheepishly. “Can’t really get up unless I want to make it worse. Help?”

“Of course.”

“Feel free to laugh.”

“I don’t think it’s funny.”

“At least you have reason to worry now. Apparently I can’t even jog without putting myself at risk.”

Steve leaned down and grabbed Tony’s wrists, hoisting him up gently and easily. “Another activity I won’t let you do on your own.”

“Ah, a joke. So you think it’s a little funny?”

“Shut up. Can you stand?”

“Barely.”

“Walk?”

“Let me- ah. No. Not really. Not right now.”

“Okay, I’ll carry you.”

“My knight in shining armor.”

“You asked me here.”

“I needed my knight.”

“I’m just glad you didn’t insist on doing this yourself.”

Steve carried Tony to the elevator, stopping briefly to grab a first aid kit, before continuing toward their bedroom to take care of Tony’s ankle. Tony let him channel his inner nurse without comment, hissing when it hurt and laying as still as possible while Steve worked. He had to admit it felt quite nice to be taken care of, even though he was in pain.

“Thank you,” he said when Steve was done. “For always caring about my well being. Even when I find it annoying.”

Steve snorted, but Tony could see his eyes softening. “Don’t put pressure on this for a few days, okay?” He didn’t acknowledge Tony’s comment, but Tony knew he appreciated it.

Tony grabbed his hand. “The rest of me is just fine.”

Steve hummed and allowed himself to be pulled onto the bed. “Should I do a proper check up to make sure?”

“You know what, Steve? I think that’s an excellent idea.”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://thesoundofnat.tumblr.com/)!


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